Leatherback Sea Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), family Dermochelyidae, Florida, USA

The largest turtle in the world, and the heaviest known non-crocodilian reptile, reaching lengths of up to 1.8 metres (5 ft 11 in) and weights of 500 kilograms (1,100 lb).

Unlike most reptiles, their skin does not have scales.

Vulnerable.

photograph via:

Broward County Sea Turtle Conservation Program

Uncharismatic Fact of the Day

As musician Fergie once said “Big girls don’t cry...especially if they’re loggerhead sea turtles.” These marine turtles may appear to be crying, but like all sea turtles, they’re actually regulating the amount of salt in their bodies by expelling it through their eyes.

(Image: A loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) discharging excess salt by Itaru Takaku)

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u should infodump about turtles. as a treat. what is ur favorite turtle. the people want to know, tumblr user boxymikey. 🎤 - anon t

well i cant deny the will of the people!!! asking me to pick a favourite is like asking me to pick between my children 😭

if i'm to restrict myself to LIVING species (sorry to leviathanochelys and archelon) i think... i have to pick the bellinger river snapping turtle. they're a critically endangered species native to new south wales, and in 2015 a virus wiped out 90% of the species. there's a captive breeding program that is working to increase their numbers, but they're functionally extinct in the wild.

while they are omnivorous, their diet primarily consists of benthic macro-invertebrate communities. their preferred habitat is in the deeper pools of the bellinger river, and the species is capable of staying underwater for extensive periods of time due to their ability to breathe through their cloaca (aka, breathe through their butt).

like all native australian turtle species (barring sea turtles), the bellinger river snapping turtle is side-necked and aquatic in nature. all side-necked turtles are either aquatic or semi-aquatic, and they can be found in southern africa and madagascar, south america, australia, and a variety of islands in the indian ocean.

bellinger river snapping turtles fall under the family chelidae, which includes a variety of turtles from australia, new guinea, indonesia, and south america. one of its more unique looking species is the mata mata (which i've seen a post about floating around i think?). members of family chelidae (referred to as chelids) also have genetic sex determination, unlike most other turtles which have their sex determined by temperature.

also fun fact: leatherback sea turtles aren't the only species of turtle to be placed in a family where they are the only living genus. leatherbacks are a part of dermochelyidae, which it shares with several extinct genera. similarly, the family carettochelyidae contains several genera, but only one the pig-nosed turtle survives today, the family dermatemydidae has four genera, with the only extant one being the hickatee, and the big-headed turtle is the only species in its entire family, extant or extinct.

A leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) moves towards the sea after been released as part of a habitat conservation in Lhok Nga beach, Aceh, Indonesia. The leatherback sea turtle is classified as a vulnerable species in Indonesia where Aceh’s coastline is one of the main spots for the turtles to nest and lay eggs

Photograph: Hotli Simanjuntak/EPA

(via The week in wildlife - in pictures | Environment | The Guardian)

The leatherback turtle is the only living member of the ancient family Dermochelyidae.  All other sea turtles belong to the family Cheloniidae.  The two families diverged around 110 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period.  This means that the leatherback is completely evolutionarily distinct from other species of turtle, a true living relic.

🕯🌻🕯 #teenidle #marinaandthediamonds #model #lonliness (Fotografía tomada por mi amiga carente del buen gusto @dermochelyidae ). https://www.instagram.com/p/BnA3GAWnVnm/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1xprxir0xkz2m

Consumption of Turtle Eggs

While I was unexpectedly away from the realms of social media and the internet in general during my trip to the islands of the Terengganu State in Malaysia, I couldn’t help but notice, and felt the need to raise a concern for an issue that is most likely already discussed at some point within this century. I visited a local market with my family, following their steps through shops and watching them buy keropok and several regional baju batik terengganu (Terengganu batik clothing) while I admired the range of designs and color palettes these different types of attire had, randing from very soft pastel colors on silk, to shiny greens and golds and purples on batik. There were a ton of shops selling cute turtle plushies ranging from the size of my thumb to the size of a dining table. But the people here might have taken their love for turtles too literally. 

I noticed, it was impossible not to in fact, because the moment I stepped into the food section, people were selling tutle eggs, soaked in some kind of water that softened the shells, making it edible for the human palate to savor. But the idea of this was instantly devastating to me. How could an entire population ignore the devastating consequences of consuming this many turtle eggs, or not even the consumption of it, the harvesting of these poor eggs, to be totally okay when we all know turtles are becoming extinct faster than it should ever.

The following data is collected from the WWF:

LONGEVITY UNDER THREAT

Common Name: Marine turtles (Eng), Penyu (Bahasa Malaysia)

Scientific Name: Cheloniidae / Dermochelyidae families

Habitat: Open and coastal waters, sandy beaches and islands  

Status (IUCN): Endangered - Olive ridley & Green turtles

                Critically endangered - Hawksbill & Leatherback turtles

Population:

Leatherback turtles - declined by more than 99%

Olive ridley turtles - declined by more than 95%

Green turtles - Some populations in Malaysia appear to be stable currently. However compared to population numbers prior to 1970, large populations in Terengganu & Sarawak have decreased significantly (more than two folds)

Hawksbill turtles - Large populations remain only in Sabah & Malacca. Both populations appear to be stabilising. However it should be noted that historical nesting data in Malacca extended to 1990, which is quite recent and too short term to surmise on population trend.

After further researching about this, I’ve found several articles raising concern about this, and they date back from 2010: http://www.wwf.org.my/?10480/Human-Appetite-Threatens-Turtles

WWF raised the concern once again in 2015 pushing the need for a national ban on the consumption of turtle eggs in Malaysia: http://www.wwf.org.my/?20545/A-national-ban-on-turtle-egg-sales-and-consumption-needed

I searched change.org to look for anyone who has ever submitted a petition yet regarding the issue, and I did not find anything about the consumption of the eggs, but I did find plenty regarding the overuse of plastic bags being detrimental to the sea turtles, which is as good, since it covers a more universal threat.

While I was questioning this with my family in the market, most of my family members agreed that it was not the best for the turtles and their space in this world, but there were also members who did not think about the dangers behind this, and was busy telling me how delicious the eggs are. I felt very conflicted, but I had to at least give an impression that nature is priority and not my taste buds. I am not a vegan/vegetarian at all. But if an animal is going to be consumed, it should be explored and investigated, the people should be fully aware of the dangers for the species and the ecosystem as a whole, ESPECIALLY if the species is considered critically endangered.

Leatherback Sea Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), family Dermochelyidae, South Pacific

The largest turtle in the world, and the heaviest known non-crocodilian reptile, reaching lengths of up to 1.8 metres (5 ft 11 in) and weights of 500 kilograms (1,100 lb).

Unlike most reptiles, their skin does not have scales.

Vulnerable.

photograph by Jason Isley, Scubazoo

Sea Turtle (Cheloniidae and Dermochelyidae families) According to @wwf: “Seven different species of sea (or marine) turtles grace our ocean waters, from the shallow seagrass beds of the Indian Ocean, to the colorful reefs of the Coral Triangle and the sandy beaches of the Eastern Pacific. While these highly migratory species periodically come ashore to either bask or nest, sea turtles spend the bulk of their lives in the ocean. WWF's work on sea turtles focuses on five of those species: green, hawksbill, loggerhead, leatherback, and olive ridley. * Over the last 200 years, human activities have tipped the scales against the survival of these ancient mariners. Slaughtered for their eggs, meat, skin, and shells, sea turtles suffer from poaching and over-exploitation. They also face habitat destruction and accidental capture—known as bycatch—in fishing gear. Climate change has an impact on turtle nesting sites; it alters sand temperatures, which then affects the sex of hatchlings. Nearly all species of sea turtle are now classified as endangered, with three of the seven existing species being critically endangered.” * #seaturtle #turtle #endangered #endangeredspecies #art #drawing #ipadpro #applepencil #line #lines #blackandwhite #animals #illustration #quarantineart #2020 #meditativeart #adobe #adobefresco #fresco #apple #vectors #vectorart #vector #digital #digitaldrawing #california #scratchboard #woodcut @conserveturtles @adobe @adobe.fresco @behance (at Stallion Springs, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CCChLqhFZQI/?igshid=1oraxy46lmqf5

A diversidade do Brasil nos surpreende, não é mesmo? Das 14 famílias de quelônios existentes no mundo, oito se encontram no nosso país! Vamos conhecer um pouco delas? . 1. Testudinidae - a família dos jabutis (ex.: Jabuti-piranga e jabuti-tinga) 2. Podocnemididae - a família das amazônicas (ex.: Tartaruga da amazônia {foto do post}, Tracajá, Iaçá e Irapuca) 3. Chelidae - a famílias de cágados (ex.: Matamatá e Cágado-pescoço-de- cobra) 4. Emydidae - a família das tartarugas de água doce (ex.: Tigre d’água brasileiro) 5. Cheloniidae - a família das tartarugas marinhas (ex.: Tartaruga cabeçuda, tartaruga verde, tartaruga de pente e tartaruga oliva) 6. Dermochelyidae - a família exclusiva da Tartaruga de couro (Dermochelys coriacea) 7. Geoemydidae - a família das tartarugas de ambientes lênticos (ex.: Perema) 8. Kinosternidae - a família das tartarugas de lodo ou almiscaradas (ex.: Muçuã) . Conhecia já alguma família? Quer conhecer mais sobre cada família? Fala pra gente! :) #worldturtleday2020 FONTES: Sociedade Brasileira de Herpetologia - Lista Oficial 2018 (https://bit.ly/3bCkszV) e Reptile Database (https://bit.ly/2ZjbZzd). https://www.instagram.com/p/CAf-xkuMTOU/?igshid=2fmmndsssxg2

A leatherback sea turtle, also known as the Luth turtle, lays eggs on a beach in Remire-Montjoly, French Guiana. Members of the Kwata environmental association supervise the laying

Photograph: Jody Amiet/AFP/Getty Images

(via The week in wildlife – in pictures | Environment | The Guardian)

The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), sometimes called the lute turtle or leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and is the fourth-heaviest modern reptile behind three crocodilians. It is the only living species in the genus Dermochelysand family Dermochelyidae. It can easily be differentiated from other modern sea turtles by its lack of a bony shell, hence the name. Instead, its carapace is covered by skin and oily flesh.

EVIDENCIAS ESTRUCTURALES

Los orígenes de las tortugas marinas se remontan al Mesozoico inferior. Se cree que este grupo de quelonios evolucionaron a partir de especies de zonas pantanosas que a su vez provenían de tortugas terrestres. Se conocen ya cuatro familias de tortugas marinas bien establecidas en el Cretácico: Toxochelyidae, Protostegidae, Cheloniidae y Dermochelyidae (Pritchard, 1997). En la actualidad, sólo sobreviven 7 especies pertenecientes a las dos últimas familias. Así, dentro de la familia Cheloniidae encontramos la tortuga verde (Chelonia mydas), la tortuga carey (Eretmochelys imbricata), la tortuga bastarda (Lepidochelys olivacea), la tortuga golfina (Lepidochelys kempii), la tortuga plana (Natator depressus) y la tortuga boba (Caretta caretta). Algunos autores reconocen una octava especie, la tortuga negra, Chelonia agasizzi, pero tal posibilidad está en entredicho, véase Karl y Bowen, 1999. En la familia Dermochelyidae sólo se encuentra en la actualidad la tortuga laúd (Dermochelys coriacea).

          THIS IS A KIND OF TURTLE REPTILES FIRST IS  LEATHERBACK SEA TURTLE . The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), sometimes called the lute turtle or leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and isthe fourth-heaviest modern reptile behind three crocodilians. It is the only living species in the genus Dermochelys and family Dermochelyidae. AND ALSO THIS TURTLE THE SECOND PICTURE ,  Loggerhead turtles are named for their large heads that support powerful jaw muscles, allowing them to crush hard-shelled prey like clams and sea urchins. ... Sea turtles arethe living representatives of a group of reptiles that has existed on Earth and travelled our seas for the last 100 million years. THIS TURTLE CALLED FLATBACK SEA TURTLE , A turtle gets its common name from the fact that its shell has a flattened or lower dome than the other sea turtles. ... The flatback turtle is listed by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as Data Deficient,meaning there is insufficient scientific information to determine its conservation status at this time.

Me gusta la gente rara, las personas con personalidad y sentimientos puros. Grandes momentos a tu lado @dermochelyidae 💕 #bff #hippie #vintage #aesthetic #colorful https://www.instagram.com/p/B2iVW2_gg_s/?igshid=1llhphsz29las